EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was published in Sand Castles, July 25, 2024.
Digital health encompasses a wide range of technologies and practices aimed at improving health and well-being. These digital programs leverage technology to enhance health care delivery. They include apps, wearables and online platforms.
Digital health aims to make medicine more personalized and precise. Smart devices (like step trackers, blood pressure monitors and glucose meters) are useful measures for digital health. They provide real-time data, empowering users to take control of their health. Digital health bridges geographical gaps, making health care accessible to remote areas. Streamlined processes, reduced paperwork and faster communication benefit both patients and providers.
A more prominent component of digital health is artificial intelligence (AI).
AI describes computer models and programs that imitate human-level intelligence to perform cognitive functions, like complex problem solving and experience gathering.
Artificial Intelligence in health care is not a new concept. In the 1970s, AI applications were first used to help with biomedical problems when research produced MYCIN, an AI program that helped identify blood infections. From there, AI-powered applications have expanded and adapted to transform the health care industry by reducing spending, improving patient outcomes and increasing efficiencies overall.
Within the last few years, AI has made significant strides in the diagnosis, treatment and management of patients. For instance, AI can identify patterns in mammograms to aid in breast cancer diagnoses. AI can suggest treatment recommendations based on individual patient data by considering factors like genetics, medical history and lifestyle to optimize care.
AI accelerates drug discovery by analyzing vast datasets and predicting potential drug candidates. AI-powered surgical robots can assist surgeons during procedures and enhance surgical precision, reduce errors and provide real-time feedback.
AI automates administrative tasks and improves efficiency in appointment scheduling, billing and patient records management. AI enables remote consultations, monitoring chronic conditions and providing personalized health advice using telehealth.
At UNF this fall, we are conducting our annual health care symposium with the theme “Personalized Medicine Using Digital Health and AI.” More than 30 experts in digital health and AI will be discussing potential applications of these new technologies in our community in various areas of health care delivery.
The symposium will be held Oct. 9-10, 2024, at the UNF Adam Herbert University Center on campus. You can find more details about the program at: www.healthcaresympsoium.unf.edu.
Digital health and AI in health care will continue to improve outcomes, lowers costs and enhance patient experiences. Using AI appropriately will allow allocation of work uniquely suited to automation and making time for humans to provide exceptional personalized care.
Shyam Paryani, MD, MHA, FACHE is the director of community engagement and director of the Executive Master of Health Administration Program at UNF. He is the program chairman and founder of the annual healthcare symposium at UNF. He is also the coordinator of the AI & Digital Health Program at UNF. He can be reached at s.paryani@unf.edu.
